The General Pierce Bridge, along a primary route between Montague and Greenfield, Mass., is starting to look ready for commuters, with the structure now slated to reopen in March.

A steel-truss span over the Connecticut River, the 75-year-old General Pierce closed for a multi-year, $13.7 million rehabilitation project construction project in April 2021.

The effort is designed to keep the 753-ft.-long bridge standing for another 25 years, and is being conducted by Northern Construction Service, from Palmer, Mass. Rebuilding the deck and replacing some of the steel support structure below has been the focus of the work, the Greenfield Reporter noted Oct. 20.

According to Kristen Pennucci, communications director with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the revised window for completion puts the project ahead of schedule. Last March, Montague Town Administrator Steve Ellis announced an expected completion date of May 15, 2023.

"With recent trends toward construction delays, though, we are pleased to see the progress toward the General Pierce Bridge, and it gives us confidence that [the contractors] will meet — or improve upon — the expected opening date of May 2023," Ellis told the Greenfield news source upon hearing the new reopening timeline from MassDOT.

Paving on the bridge deck was completed earlier in the month, according to Pennucci, while guardrail installation and pavement markings were finished Oct. 21.

Additional work includes concrete repairs at beam seat locations, bearing rehabilitation, rivet replacements, lattice steel repairs, bridge rail modifications, painting and installation of a pedestrian lighting system, she said.

State Wants Full Bridge Replacement

MassDOT officials consider the General Pierce Bridge repairs to be a short-term plan to ensure the span's integrity, according to the Reporter.

Jonathan Gulliver, MassDOT's state highway administrator, announced "an opportunity to advance the full replacement" of the structure in an email sent to state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Deerfield, in June. The determination, Gulliver wrote at the time, came in response to advocacy "regarding the renewed support for additional work to remediate and to paint the upper trusses on the General Pierce Bridge" that had previously gone unanswered.

"Our analysis determined that, due to the age and condition of the bridge, the scope of work would need to expand considerably beyond painting and would additionally require extensive repair work to remove rusted structural elements that, although stable, are not suitable for painting," he noted. "We considered several alternatives and determined that the approach that is the most resilient and least impactful to the community is to advance the full replacement of the bridge."

No timeline has been set for the work, but Montague Selectboard Chair Rich Kuklewicz said previously that he expects it likely would not begin until after completion of the $56 million three-bridge replacement project along the Montague Power Canal announced last summer.

The Reporter noted that replacing Turners Falls Road's White Bridge, the cross-canal Green Bridge, and Sixth Street's Bailey Bridge is still another four to five years away.

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